Category Archives: Cemeteries

Post navigation

“On the 11th hour, of the 11th day of the 11th month… we will remember them”.

Right now I’m remembering back when I was shooting down the shop to do some messages and mum reminded me to “keep my wits about me”because it was “Remembrance Day“ and when it turned 11 o’clock I was to STOP what I was doing, bow my head and remember those who gave their all in the War.

Querulous me asked… “but how will I know if it’s 11 o’clock” for I had no watch. “Just keep your wits about you Catherine”…I did and I knew it was “the time”because everything, and everyone, stopped and the silence was palpable.

Remembrance Day is indeed the time for remembering and finally the War Service of our Indigenous Australian’s has been recognised with the unveiling of our Nation’s first memorial, here in Adelaide, South Australia dedicated to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Servicemen, and Servicewomen and and my heart just about bursts with pride and happiness.

I also learn that the Boer War, more than 110 years ago, marked the first time Aboriginal soldiers served on active duty with Australian services and then remember another reason to be proud to be South Australian. It’s that magnificent statue in our C.B.D. at the corner of King William Street and North Terrace honouring the 12,000 Australians who served in the six colony contingents which was the first time Australians had served/ fought overseas but because it was before “Federation” has been largely overlooked. These soldiers were volunteers and mostly mounted units known as MOUNTED RIFLES, BUSHMEN or IMPERIAL BUSHMEN. In honour of the 600 who died the SOUTH AFRICA WAR MEMORIAL was unveiled, here in Adelaide, on 4 June 1904 by Governor Le Hunte.

“Your stature is a statue of action and it betokens the action of Empire when it is called for”

Then sadness overtakes me as I remember those whose sacrifices certainly are not honoured, not respected and their memorials are moved and/ or destroyed. To read about this please follow this LINK.

Readers who have been following this blog for quite a while may remember the first time I wrote about the re-using/ re-cycling of South Australian Graves. It came about because finally I had found the Burial Site of my Susan’s daughter, my great grandmother Eliza Jane (Rowen) Murray, at Cheltenham Cemetery and was having trouble locating the descendants of the now deceased lease holder, Great Uncle Andy, to have the lease signed over to me… That was 16 months ago, on 22 Jun 2012, and that issue has not yet been resolved but I have paid the lease (including back fees) to keep Eliza Jane undisturbed for a few more years although I have no ownership and am unable to erect a decent monument etc, but at least she’s safe.

Many many stories later, the topic of the desecration of South Australian Ancestral burial sites was threatening to over whelm this Blog so a month ago I set up a sister site, dedicated to South Australian Graves under threat, which I wrote about HERE.

Some action is finally happening, here in South Australia, and people are beginning to speak out in opposition to this practice of reusing graves. So, HERE is the link to that story and information as to how to contribute to the discussion, if that’s something you’d like to do.

Hi all,
No doubt regular readers will not need to be told that I tend to digress, go off track and temporarily “lose the plot” from time to time 🙄

I also reckon that you same readers also know that I seem to have become somewhat fixated on matters related to the burial of loved ones and especially my horror at the desecration/ destruction of those places where so many of our Ancestors and Pioneers were laid to R.I.P. here in South Australia.

No apologies for that, but have decided to transfer this writing/ information to another site so that those with a particular interest in this re-use/ recycling of our South Australian gravesites can access the info there.

The site is “South Australian Graves Under Threat” and here’s a LINK if you want to check it out.

It is clear that managing South Australian cemeteries has always been problematic and continues today. Trove, which is indeed a Treasure Trove of unfathomable beauty, dropped this little jewel into my cyber-space orbit today, from the “South Australian Register” circa 1904.

It horrifies me that the burial sites of our Ancestors continue to be defiled, desecrated and destroyed and I’ve written about it often… To read these posts just click HEREHEREHEREHEREHEREHERE and recently I sent this post this to Sentimental Sunday… To read this just click HERE

Well I’ve now come to realise that, whilst being appalled and speaking out strongly for others, I’ve also been closing my eyes and refusing to see the depth of degradation happening in my own back yard…

Here are just a few examples of the situation, about 10 kilometres from my home, in Payneham Cemetery, South Australia.

Beautiful gravesites destined for & awaiting demolition

The destruction and desecration of graves in progress

Theodore Henry Elix so recently buried alongside his wife and now their graves are gone and the memorials awaiting collection or demolition.

Killled In Action and “making the ultimate sacrifice” does not ensure that this South Australian’s memory is honoured.

Here we are again… another young “diggers” life and sacrifice for his country defiled.

However, if any of these people happened to have been buried in South Australia’s West Terrace Cemetery… or their Memorials erected there then all would be OK

Why??? … Glad you asked. It’s because the West Terrace Cemetery has Heritage protection. That sounds good eh? …

The West Terrace Cemetery, Adelaide has Heritage status and is feted and awarded…

This Cemetery has “Heritage status” and the gravesites/ memorials are protected because of… wait for it… {DRUMROLL…}

Sadly, I’ve received photographs taken today ,19 May 2013, at the Anglican Section ZL of Karrakatta Cemetery showing that this travesty is continuing.

~~~~~~~~~

Desecration at Karrakatta Cemetery – 19 May 2013

Desecration at Karrakatta Cemetery – 19 May 2013

“Saving Groves – WA” are asking people, from all over the world, to sign a petition toMembers of the Legislative Assembly of the Government of Western Australia to get this sacrilegious practice stopped. They report:

“For almost 30 years the Metropolitan Cemeteries Board has been clearing headstones from Karrakatta Cemetery and will commence this practice in the Fremantle Cemetery in the near future.

Previously headstones have been removed from many graves of our soldiers that fought and suffered badly during the wars so that we may have our freedom. Now they have no markers on their graves … is this the way we thank them?

Headstones from founding pioneers, people who have contributed historically to this state have had headstones removed … is this how we thank them?

Previously, valuable historic information and artefacts have been sent off and crushed for road base and we honour these people by driving over it.

The MCB have declared that this is no longer the practice however there has been limited evidence that this is the process.

The Metropolitan Cemeteries Board has other options available without removing headstones from graves but they refuse to consider these options.”

People from all over Australia, and from all over the world, have family buried in Western Australian Cemeteries… maybe one of your Ancestors has been laid to rest here?

PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION, TO SAVE OUR SACRED SITES, WHICH READS:

To:
Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Government of Western Australia

We the undersigned petition the Western Australian Legislative Assembly to request the Minister for Local Government to direct the Metropolitan Cemeteries Board to cease their renewal program, specifically the removal of headstones, effective immediately. We petition the Members of the Legislative Assembly of WA to also undertake a further review of the Cemeteries Act WA 1986 to ensure the prevention of the desecration and removal of headstones from graves of people interned at all Cemeteries within Western Australia.

“Your tombstone stands among the rest, Neglected and alone.The name and the date are chiselled out,On polished, marbled stone.It reaches out to all who cares,It is too late to mourn.You did not know that I exist,You died and I was born.Yet each of us are cells of you,In flesh, in blood, in bone.Our blood contracts and beats a pulseEntirely not our own.Dear Ancestor, the place you filled,One hundred years ago,Spreads out among, the ones you left.Who would have loved you so?I wonder if you lived and loved,I wonder if you knewThat someday I would find this spot,And come to visit you.”

It took a great many years for me to eventually track down the final resting place of my Great Grandmother, Eliza Jane (Rowen) Murray in the Cheltenham Cemetery, South Australia. A desolate, lonely, abandoned place… caving in and with just a weathered flower pot bearing her name…. but as I stood there, claimed her as my own and took steps to stop her gravesite being re-cycled and desecrated, I knew that she recognised me and was pleased…We must not allow the sanctity of our old gravesites to be defiled…

Memorials ready to be crushed for roadworks. Karakatta Cemetery, WAustralia

Is anyone out there maybe suggesting that I’m “obsessive”?

I confess, I give up… I am

Regular readers would no doubt remember my outrage at the “re-cycling” of cemetery plots here in South Australia and the horror at the very likely possibility that my precious Great Grandmother would be dug up. You can read about it HERE

My next post was full of excitement as I explained that the South Australian Govern-ment had just released a “Draft Burial and Cremation 2012” Bill was and asking for comments, and suggestions, from the general public and not just from those with an invested interest.On accessing the Draft Bill my head was turned inside out with the “legalese” but plodded on and so posted “Shortcuts for Commenting” to give a bit of a “leg up” to anyone else thinking of putting in a submission.

My final post expressed both surprise, and delight, in having managed to completed this somewhat onerous task and offered to email copies of my submission, if requested.

The good news is that the new “South Australian Burial and Cremation” Bill has now passed it’s “2nd reading” in the House of Assembly with the next debate in just a few days time, Tuesday 5 Mar 2013. Fingers crossed that we may finally have some effective legal protection for our Ancestors, their remains, their gravesites and memorials. Will post the outcome as soon as it comes to hand.

~~~~~~~~~

Sadly all this good news, and hopeful thinking, was somewhat shot down in flames just a few days ago when Crissouli on her Blog, That Moment in Time, alerted us to the wanton destruction and desecration of gravesites in Western Australia. Please click HERE to read her post and see many photos of exactly what is going on there. It’s hard to believe that such beautiful and spiritual, stone monuments are being gathered up and crushed for “road works”, often without relatives being informed.

Published in the “Subiaco Post” on 1 May 2006 is Ms Allchurch’s horror, and continuing anguish, on discovering that the joint grave of her much loved Great Grand-mother, Grandmother, Aunt and mother had been destroyed, despite written assurances from the Western Australian Metropolitan Cemeteries Board that she’d receive notification if any changes were proposed.

Makes you feel helpless, doesn’t it. Thanks to Sandra Playle there is a Petition you can sign to add your voice to the voices of others demanding that authorities STOP desecrating the final resting places of our Ancestors, destroying their monuments and discarding any physical memory of them just like so much flotsam and jetsam.

On 24 Feb 2013 Sandra wrote:

“By the MCB’s admission there is around 80% cremations so I fail to understand the reasoning for renewal. I have always advocated that the cemetery be:

(a) Closed for new graves.

(b) Open for burial in existing raves ie; family in with family to the limit of three as has been the practise.

(c) Open for cremations and the scattering/placement of ashes.

(d) If they must insist on new graves then the existing headstones stay insitu and the new ones are made SMALLER to fit in the area between. This would mean the surrounds would have to go from existing graves.”

Once upon a time, the general public had trouble making their collective voice heard but technology, and the “social media” has changed all that. I urge you to sign the petitioon and pass the message on via any medium at your disposal: Facebook, Twitter, Google +, Pinterest etc.

You may think that Western Australia is much too far from you for your voice to make any difference, but it will, indeed it will. International exposure can work wonders in this “Global Community” of ours and tomorrow it could be your Ancestor’s gravesite being destroyed, or you child, or your brother/ sister’s …

Finally, I must share Crissouli’s beautiful poem which reaches into my very soul.

GRANDMA’S FOUNDATION

I went to visit Grandma Her stone it wasn’t there I thought I made an error But I did look everywhere It was then I noticed rubble Right against the fence And a dumpster full of rubbish It really was quite dense. Then I saw my Grandma’s name As if she was calling me “Please help me darling granddaughter Will you please help me be free For crushing is the next step Road base they say they need I suspect that is just a cover up It all comes down to greed. The land here’s rather valuable I heard the workmen say My lovely stone you saved for Will be destroyed today.” (c) Crissouli

Memorials in the dumpster with all the rubbish and ready for crushing…

“Show me the manner in which a nation cares for its dead, and I will measure with mathematical exactness the tender mercies of its people their respect for the laws of the land and their loyalty to high deeds.” – William Gladstone

“Thankyou for your submission. It has been forwarded to the appropriate officer for action.”

Whooo Hooo!!! … made it just “by the skin of my teeth”. My submission to the South Australian “Draft Bill for Burial & Cremation 2012″ hit the appropriate desk computer, at the A-G’s office, on the afternoon of the deadline 4 July 2012.

If you’d like a copy of these compliments to the South Australian Government for their initiative and commonsense, as well as suggestions for further improvement, just let me know and I’ll email a copy.

For those new to this topic and interested in the background: on 22 Jun 2012, as part of Gould’s “Family History Through the Alphabet” challenge, I posted “Gg – is for Grave concerns”. My concern being that of the Grave of my Great Grandmother and the very real threat she will be “dug up, bones stuffed into a small box, replaced and someone plonked on top..” You can read about it here.

It’s in the interest of us all to protect our Ancestor’s gravesites… so why not check out these “shortcuts” which will make commenting on the SA “Draft Burial & Cremation Bill 2012” an absolute breeze? …

The way in which the remains, memorials and documentation of our Ancestors are handled is crucially important to all Genealogists and Family Historians. We now have a very tight time-frame in which to influence the South Australian Government and bring about much needed improvement. I have a dream that the A-G’s office will be swamped with comments, some quite brief and from many corners of the earth, clearly showing this to be a matter of most serious concern and not just in this tiny part of the world we call South Australia.

Like me, you may find 37pages of “legalese” a lot to wade through, let alone analyse and provide comment on, by 4 July 2012… can you hear me squawking?… 😀 However, you can ask for an extension of time and these tips should help ease your way but firstly a word of warning. I tend to revert to my former “Junior Primary Teacher” habits and “over-explain”, so if I sound patronising, please forgive.

STEP (1)
Just click on “Your Say – South Australian Government” . This will bring up the Home Page with “Current Topics” listed. The first is the “Burial and Cremation Bill 2012”. Click on “view topic” which takes you through to a brief overview with links to:

(a) Page 13: Prohibit the giving of death certificates to prevent those with a vested interest (e.g. Nursing Home owners, beneficiaries of the will, etc.) from signing the death certificate.
(b) Page 30: Power of the Public Trustee if the owner of “the Grant” can not be located.
(c) Page 36: Transitional provisions re: Interment rights.

So there you have it and if you’re running short on time just ask for an extension…

~~~~~~~~~

Please note the South Australian Government’s Advice that “information contained in any submission may be referred to publicly or published. It may also be disclosed to applicants under the Freedom of Information Act.”

They also advise that “readers should not assume that any of the proposed changes will necessarily be made. The Government will decide on any changes only after considering submissions.”

THANKS FOR DROPPING BY…

I hope you've enjoyed your visit and if you'd like to leave a comment that'd be great. When you have some time to spare, you might like to check the Archives for stories of interest... Cheers, Catherine.

Advertisements

THANKYOU FOR VISITING MY BLOG TODAY

You may like to leave a comment; I love hearing from my readers
When you have some time, you might like to check out the Archives to see if any of the stories appeal.